Most Popular

But the Crows will now have to play away from the comfy fortress of the Adelaide Oval, where they can usually count on around 50,000 fans backing them all the way and injecting an element of stage fright into their opponents.

Suddenly they’re on enemy territory.

That territory being the MCG, not only the home of football, but the home of Richmond.

The Tigers have regularly played to large crowds throughout the season and in their two finals matches, the crowds have been in excess of 90,000.

There’s no doubt the bulk of the crowd on Saturday will be right behind Richmond.

A premiership drought of 37 years has installed them firmly as sentimental favourites and they alone have added some real spark to September.

For a fleeting moment on Saturday afternoon, it looked as though this year’s grand final would be a non-Victorian affair: GWS vs Adelaide.

But the Tigers not only saved the day, they saved the week.

Hotels, restaurants, pubs and clubs are now bracing for a cash bonanza.

Last Saturday alone boosted business significantly for the pubs around the Richmond area as fans partied well into the night.

Although the GWS Giants are essentially an AFL club, even the league would’ve been breathing a massive sigh of relief when Richmond made it through to the grand final.

Friday’s traditional grand final parade will now be assured of huge crowds, Tiger and non-Tiger fans alike throwing their support behind the yellow and black.

Unfortunately, scalpers too will be doing a roaring trade with tickets at a premium.

But as much as the Tiger Army will be winning the battle for supporter supremacy, the Crows will be doing their bit to shut them down.

They’ll come armed with their greatest weapon: passion.

Huge numbers of supporters are already making plans to cross the border in an invasion not seen since Adelaide last made the grand final back in 1998, when they were triumphant.

As much as Victorians love to hate the South Australians, there’s a genuine respect for them.

This grand final will be very much an “us versus them” type of day.

The rivalry will be as intense as we’ve seen in recent years, and given both clubs have experienced lengthy premiership droughts, the sheer disappointment of defeat is going to be intolerable for one of the teams.

Opinion is very much divided as to who’ll be that club.

Both have enormous strengths in the playing personnel, boating some of the best players in the competition.

You need only throw up a couple to get an idea as to why these teams have been so dominant.

The Tigers have Dustin Martin, the Crows have Rory Sloane.

They’re poised to be the standouts on the big stage. The stars of, dare I say it, the big dance.

So, strike up the band and let’s get this party started.

Sadly for Adelaide, I suspect it’ll be Richmond dancing the night away.